Literacy and Longing
by iluv2eatcarbs
Summary: I was a silent Remus Lupin lover until Sirius Black caught me staring.  Now he's determined to get Remus and I together.  Bugger.
1. Chapter 1

An audible sigh escapes my lips as I watch him stretch his arms above his head in the Great Hall. His shirt lifts just enough to reveal a trail of hair going from his belly button down past his pant-line. He then moved his hand and scratched the back of his head, making his sandy brown hair stand up at odd ends. James says something to him and he laughs loudly, the laugh is soft like the wind whispering in your ear. It's not loud and attention seeking like the rest of his friends. His smile causes laugh lines to form around his eyes, and he tosses his head back without any reservation or embarrassment.

A scoff was sounded near him and I looked to see Sirius Black smiling and looking at me with an amused smile on his face as he watched me practically drool over one of his best mates. His eyes flick from me to Remus as if he's solving a puzzle.

"Bugger," I curse under my breath as I advert my blue eyes back to the table, shifting my blonde hair over my shoulders to hide the fact my cheeks had turned a bright shade of red. My embarrassment reminds me of how impossible it would be to get the attention of one of the Marauders. Not only was I not out-going enough around men but I looked like I was thirteen years old. My blonde hair fell at my collarbone, which was normal and dandy, but I have large blue green eyes that form into a perfect circle that give me a child-like innocence. The only guys that ever paid attention to me have yet to go through puberty.

Normally I'm not a shy person that curses into their food and adverts their gaze, to my close friends I'm out-going with a bitting tongue. Around men, especially Remus, I crumble hopelessly and can barely squeeze out a few words.

"Stop cursing at your food, what has it done to you?" Gwen says playfully.

"Sirius Black caught me looking at Remus, again."

"Really?" Gwen says looking at Sirius with no restraint. If Gwen weren't my best friend I would pummel her with mince pies. "He still looks amused, I swear that boy has the attention span of a twelve year old."

"I think he's caught me staring at Remus at least twenty times in the past three days."

"Here's a thought Ella, instead of just gaping at Remus from a distance why don't you try, oh, I don't know...talking to him?"

"I do talk to him," I said defensively. "The other day I asked him for some ink because I left mine out over night and it dried up."

"No, no you did not say that. You opened your mouth and when no words came out you gestured wildly to the bottle of ink and Remus was so confused and frightened he left the table and the ink."

"It was some sort of interaction."

"You know, for a girl whose loud and says the first thing that kinds to mind like you have turrets, you're really quite the disappointment for when it comes to the opposite sex."

I pulled a face and tore off a bit of my biscuit and threw it at Gwen. She responded merrily by picking up the piece of biscuit and popping it into her mouth. "Thanks for that, I was famished."

"Oh yes, because during lunch there's always a shortage of food," I deadpanned. I looked over at Remus again only to catch his retreating form as he left the Great Hall. I sighed and threw the remainder of my biscuit onto my plate. I heard a shuffling beside me but didn't look up. It wasn't until someone spoke my name did I move my eyes away from my plate.

"Ella Vaughn, right?" I looked up shocked and saw Sirius Black had moved himself so he was sitting next to me.

"Uh," was my response.

Sirius smirked and flipped his head, causing his hair to go up and fall back into his eyes. "I can't help but notice that you have your eyes set on my dearest friend Remus."

I could feel my face turn red and I was about to strongly deny it (I will deny it to my death) but Gwen had other ideas. "She's fancied him for ages!" She declared boldly.

I shot Gwen a look, I made a mental note to kill her later. "I do not fancy him, he just has an excellent set of...elbows."

"Elbows?" Sirius questioned with his head titled to one side and an amused smile on his lips. Corr he looks sexy when he does that. If I wasn't hopelessly in love with Remus, Sirius would definitely be second on my list of men to hopelessly pine after and love but never actually talk to.

"Yes, finest set of elbows I've ever seen. He seems like he properly moisturizes them and everything! I've only been looking at him in hopes of catching him using whatever product he uses on those baby-soft elbows."

"You must be pretty obsessed with those elbows," Sirius said condescendingly.

"I wouldn't say obsessed, it's not like I've made a potato shrine of his elbows in my bedroom or anything." Okay, so maybe once Remus threw away a chocolate wrapper and I fetched it from the bins and I put it under my pillow until the school year ended and lost it somewhere between packing up my things and moving back home. But I definitely wouldn't say I was obsessed.

"Well, I would like to help you and your elbow fetish."

"Why?" I asked before thinking.

Sirius shrugged casually and ran a hand through his hair. "Remus needs a girl, not that he's personally asked for one but as his best mate I know when he needs one. And you're a decently attractive, semi-normal girl from what I've seen. At the least you could hold his attention for a few days, every boy deserves a good girl to keep themselves occupied with."

"And what about you? Why are you helping out your friends and not yourself?"

Sirius shrugged again, "I have better things to do with my time than chase around skirts. Besides, I've got the rest of my life to do that, why waste the good years on chasing around emotional girls who are so hell bent on trying to be cute that they don't realize if they stopped trying they would _actually _be cute. I'm saving myself for the older, more mature species of women."

"Thanks, I'll try not to be too insulted by what you just said."

Sirius looked unaffected by my sarcasm and continued droning on, he was quite annoying, I don't see why girls pinned over him so much. "It's just my personal opinion, Remus on the other hand is open for persuasion. And I have chosen you to do the persuading."

"This isn't going to be a cheesy moment in a book where you give me a makeover and I start wearing skirts that show my bum and garter belts and my hair sudden has insane volume to it?"

Sirius laughed loudly, his laugh sounding like a dog who was being viciously tickled. "No, besides Remus doesn't really go for that sort of thing. He's more of a natural type of guy, naughty librarian -at times- kind of gal."

"Right well I'll start wearing my glasses everyday from now on and sweater vests, all the while doing it provocatively so."

Sirius laughed his weird laugh again, "you're quick on your feet, he'll like that." Sirius said eyeing me up.

"Too bad she's useless once she's actually near Remus." Gwen mentioned.

"So you do fancy him," Sirius said with a victorious grin.

"No, his elbows..." I said lamely. "Alright, I admit it I'm in love with Remus Lupin!" I said it too loudly and got some looks from people. Luckily girls admitting they were in love with one of the Marauders was a common site so people quickly dismissed it and went on with their lives.

"Fantastic, now that you've admitted it we can move on." He clapped his hands together and leaned towards me. His grey eyes were staring intently into mine, I could melt. "Do you read?"

"Hm-what?" I asked, I had been momentarily distracted by his eyes.

Sirius smiled, "I asked if you read."

"Oh!" I said, perking at the subject. I smiled fondly at the question, it was actually the reason why I had fallen in love with Remus over the years.

The first time I had ever seen Remus was first year, our second day. He was sitting at the Gryffindor table with a book poised in his hands. I didn't think much of it but when I looked closer at the book I realized it was one of my favorites, Lucas. As the years continued most of the muggle books he carried around I had read or, after seeing him read the book, I would read it after and always love it. He was one of the few people aside from me who read muggle books.

My dad was a muggle so I grew up reading wizard stories and muggle stories. On some weekends I will draw a bath and light candles and read books for hours on end, not greeting society until I was hungry and my wine was gone. I wasn't one for breaking rules but there was nothing better to me than reading a book and drinking wine, all the while enjoying it in a bathtub. Maybe one of these days Remus can join me in the bathtub...

I digress.

"If I didn't drag her away from books she would have no friends," Gwen said.

"That's being a tad dramatic," I said, trying to cover what she said, not wanting to sound like a complete loser.

"Fantastic," Sirius said. "Have you ever read Heart of Darkness?"

"Of course!" I said excitedly. "It's one of my favorite books of all time."

"Perfect, it's Moo-I mean Remus's too." Sirius started digging around in his bag and produced the book, handing it over to me delicately.

"You just happen to be carrying this book with you?" I asked, holding the book in my hands. The pagers were worn and dogeared, signs of use. My fingers tingled with excitement realizing that Remus had touched this book, I was tempted to rub it on my face, then quickly realized that would be incredibly creepy.

"Remus lent it to me ages ago and I never got around to reading it and it has stayed in my backpack since. Anyway, for the next couple of days I want you to carry around that book. I know if Remus sees you with it he will be bound to strike up a conversation with you."

"Sounds perfect, except for one flaw; Remus has never so much as looked at me, let alone notice what I'm holding. Trust me, if he had looked at me I would know, I spend enough time staring at him." Alright, maybe that was too much information to give out. Sirius, being the sometimes gentlemen he is shrugged it off.

"Leave that up to me, I'll make sure that he sees you and the book."

"Does this plan involve bodily harm?"

Sirius smiled as he got up from his seat, "that's for me to know and for you to find out. Ladies, it's been great doing business with you. Oh, and Ella? I wasn't kidding when he said he liked the librarian look." He then mock-bowed and gave us one last smirk before leaving the Great Hall.

I'm not proud to admit that over the next couple of days I wore my glasses and clutched the book like my life depended on it. Sirius hadn't so much as glanced my way since our discussion in the Great Hall a few days ago. I was beginning to think that this was some sort of joke, that I was their amusement for the time being. I was ready to give up, to return the book to Sirius and start wearing my contacts again until Wednesday.

It had been approximately four days since Sirius had approached me in the Great Hall, I had taken a nap during my lunch hour and had slept longer than I had meant to and was running late for Muggle Studies, a class I shared with Remus. I was rounding a corner, only a few feet away from my class when I ran into something hard. My books went flying everywhere and I landed hard on my arse.

"Argh!" I yelled loudly as I climbed to my knees and started gathering my things. "Great, just bloody great. My arse is throbbing, my hair is standing up in odd directions as if a bat attacked it, I lost my favorite bracelet and Sirius Black-"

"Sounds like you've had a rough day."

I had completely forgotten that the reason I was now on the ground cursing my life away was because I had run into something, or someone. The person's voice made me immediately halt what I was doing and stop breathing. I would recognize that husky, slightly scratchy voice anywhere. I realized that I must look completely bonkers kneeling on the ground, unmoving and slowly lifted up my head. My suspicions were confirmed when I saw Remus Lupin standing in front of me, smiling down on me.

"Tough times," I spluttered out, not knowing what the hell I was saying.

"Sounds like it," he said smirking. "Sorry, I would help you clean up but Sirius seems to have sent a sticking jinx my way and I'm currently unable to move." Remus wrapped his hands around his legs and pulled at his leg, proving that he was stuck.

I would have to remember to thank Sirius later, or kill him, depending on how this conversation goes. "Moving good," great, now I sound like a caveman. To distract myself I finished picking up the rest of my books and placed Heart of Darkness on top, hoping it will catch his attention. I stood up and brushed myself off. Remus was still looking at me, an amused expression on his face. I realized we were standing less than a foot apart. This is the closest I've ever been to him, I really hope I don't mess this up.

"I don't believe we've ever met, I'm Remus Lupin," he said extending his hand out to me. I looked at his hand and was unsure what to do next. The thought of touching him had be quivering with excitement and I felt faint. This was too much excitement for me. I took one more look at his hand before I turned around and sprinted down the hallway.

**A/N: Alright, so yes, this is a new story. I'm not abandoning my others! Thin Ice is 30% done and Bitten chapter 2 is 40% done. I've had this idea in my head for over a year, with half of the first chapter finished so I figured I'd actually put it out! It's my first Remus/OC so tell me what you think :)**


	2. Introductions Take 2

"So Remus told me the funniest story today," Sirius said flopping down next to me in the common room. I didn't look up at him over my book. I was re-reading Heart of Darkness and didn't want to be disturbed, especially by Sirius Black who was the cause of my humiliation, even if it was indirectly. "Ella, don't you want to know about the story?" Sirius asked, nudging me with his foot.

"No," I said flatly, still not sparing him a glance.

"I think you do, it's very interesting." Sirius said, still prodding me with his foot.

"Stop touching me with your foot, you're going to spread your fungus."

"I'll stop when you look at me."

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose, breathing deeply. Sirius was the last person I wanted to talk to. After I had run away from Remus I realized how ridiculous I had acted and that I never wanted to show my face in public again. I quickly got over never wanting to show my face in public but was a strong believer in never showing it to Remus.

"If I listen to your story will you leave?"

"Maybe, if I'm bored after I tell it."

"Fine," I said closing the book on my finger and setting it on my lap, focusing my attention on Sirius.

"Well Remus came storming into the room yelling at me for sticking his feet to the ground and making him miss Muggle Studies. Most interesting part of this story was that a girl with blonde hair and the biggest blue eyes he's ever seen ran into him and started cursing my name. The mystery girl seemed frazzled and when he introduced himself the girl took one look at his hand and ran away. He described this girl as cute but a little mental and twitchy."

"Cute!" I squealed, not caring who heard me or how eager I sounded. "He said I was cute?"

"And a little mental, don't forget that."

"Cute," I repeated, hardly able to believe Remus had actually said that about me. "He thinks I'm cute?"

"I think we've firmly established that, that and he thinks you're a little mental and slightly twitchy. I think you're going to have to work a bit harder next time. Why don't you try with telling him your name?"

"Next time?" I spluttered.

Sirius looked annoyed with me as he flicked a piece of lint off the sleeve of his robe. "Yes, next time. You buggered up the first meeting but luckily Remus is less judgmental than the rest of us and is open to giving people second chances."

"No way," I said waving my arms. "There's no way I'm humiliating myself again. I'm sorry, I'll just observe from the sidelines and forever long for him."

Sirius rolled his eyes, "you don't have much time left for that, love. It's our seventh year and almost October. You've got around seven months to get Mo-Remus, and from how things have been going you're going to need as much time as possible."

"What if I say no?"

Sirius titled his head down and looked up at my through his bangs. "Sweetheart, there's something you're going to learn very quickly about me; I always get my way."

"You're annoying," I said child-like.

"Well you don't exactly shit rainbows yourself darling."

"Stop with all the nicknames. It's Ella, and if you forget it I can post it on my head."

"I'll do what I want," Sirius said, lounging back in the chair, an air of self importance about him that most purebloods held.

"Last time that happened I wound up with a bruised tailbone, I'll have you know that I have to sit on a circular pillow for the next few days during class because it hurts too much to sit on a normal seat."

"Is that so?" Sirius asked looking under me and seeing the red pillow jutting out from underneath me. "Well, harm wasn't planned but that's pretty hilarious."

"I really don't like you."

"Of course you do, I'm Sirius Black. One seductive smile from me and you'll be on your knees."

I blanched, "how crude."

"Oh yeah?" He said looking at me with a glint in his eyes. "Are you challenging me dearest Ella Bear?"

"Ella Bear? Really?"

Sirius shrugged and scooted closer to me. "I could have you begging for mercy, you know." He said in a low voice.

"Doubtful."

Sirius seemed to take this as a challenge and moved over to me so that he was practically on top of me. My eyes were fixated on his face as it slowly morphed. All tenseness in it dropped and his eyes seemed to darken. His lips were parted slightly as he licked his lips, the moisture clinging to them. "I think I could prove you wrong," he said in a seductive whisper. "In fact," he said moving even closer to me, his lips so close to my neck they brushed my skin as he talked. "I think I could make you forget about Remus entirely." He used the back of his fingers and ran them up and down the side of my arm, I couldn't help but tremble, I was paralyzed under his touch. He then nuzzled his nose into the crook of my neck and shoulder, his hot breath leaving a searing trail. He then nipped at my shoulder and pulled back, the chill of the room taking over my senses and bringing me back to reality.

"Sirius Black, you are such a slut." I said laughing, kicking him with my foot.

"You're cute when you laugh, you should do it more often." Sirius said loosely and in passing. "Your smile is wide and uninhibited and your nose wrinkles slightly, it's cute."

I could feel myself blushing, not sure how to take what Sirius said. He didn't say it as a means of coming onto me and trying to get into my pants or anything like that. It just seemed like an observation he was pointing out.

"You sure know how to make a girl blush," I said jokingly, fanning myself with my hand.

"Well," he said standing up and giving my foot a squeeze. "I've got to get going, business to attend to and all. Tomorrow during dinner come sit next to me, come early. Oh, and wear your glasses again. When you were wearing them you almost made me want to go to the library," and with a wink he left the common room.

The next day as I was getting ready for dinner while Gwen was quizzing me on what Sirius had said. "Are you sure this isn't some elaborate prank?" Gwen was ever suspicious about his true intentions, then again Gwen tended to be more of a cynic where I leaned towards optimistic.

I shrugged, "could be, but it doesn't seem like it." I said looking at myself in a red off the shoulder sweater.

"Maybe Sirius is just secretly interested in you and this is his way of getting close to you without actually ever having to tell you he fancies you." Gwen sighed dreamily. "Love the top by the way."

I laughed loudly and tripped over my feet as I pulled on a pair of jeans. "You read way too many romance stories Gwen."

"Maybe, but if it does happen I expect full detail retellings so I can live vicariously through your life. Merlin, I wish I had someone to dress up for," she sighed dramatically as she flopped onto my bed.

"It's more of a pain then a blessing," I said turning around in the mirror and checking all angles. "Too much?" I ask holding out my body for her to examine.

"Nope," she said, drawing out the p. "There's only the slightest bit of desperation coming off of you, hopefully he doesn't detect it."

"Yes, well if me talking to Remus goes anything like last time I wont actually say anything. Then the desperation will go blissfully unnoticed."

"Well, if Remus doesn't work out Snape is always single."

I pulled a face at her and she started fake-vomiting, causing us to then burst out into a fit of giggles. I took one last look in the mirror and applied some lip-gloss. It may be too much for dinner but Remus is a hormonal teenage boy, and while he is viewed as the quiet, shy and kindest Marauder, things like ragging hormones still affect him. And if I'm unable to speak then maybe I can use my womanly assets to rope him in. And I've got a lot of woman. I got from my mom my hour-glass shaped figure. Now it's not one of the hour-glass shaped figures girls always claim to have when they have the slightest bit of fat on their hips, no it's full on tiny waist and protruding hips. My boobs are quite large which can be annoying, I wish I could go free-bird like a lot of girls and never wear a bra. I wish some of the fat from my boobs could be transported to my butt because I don't have one, it's basically just a line down my back, a line that doesn't hide the bit of cellulite gracing my upper thigh.

Sometimes I felt like Remus and I would make an awkward couple, he's so skinny and sometimes looks gaunt whereas it looks like my hips could feed a third-world country. Luckily Remus is extremely tall and hovers above the majority of the student body so his height and my curves balance out slightly.

"Oi, do you want me to leave you alone with you and your reflection?" Gwen snipped.

I rolled my eyes, "just making sure everything is in place."

"Right, we have to worry about a stray nipple."

"Exactly," I said shoving the lip-gloss into my pocket and grabbing the copy of Heart of Darkness and heading down the stairs. It was still fairly early for dinner and most people wouldn't be heading down for another ten minutes or so. I hope that Sirius isn't setting me up for a Marauder prank and I'm going to wind up with feathers all over my body...again.

Once in the Great Hall I let out a relieved breath when I saw Sirius sitting by himself, face-down in his plate of food. Girls were looking on at him hopefully and whispering to each other, trying to get the other to go up and talk to him. It was rare that you would see a Marauder alone, where there was one Marauder there was always another, usually hiding behind a corner ready to pounce on you.

I sat down next to Sirius, carefully placing the book in front of me, and noticed a few girls disheartened looks. I'm sure by tomorrow there will be a rumor going around that Sirius and I are harboring a lovechild, or something equally ridiculous.

Sirius looked at me and raised his eyebrows as if shocked. "Well, I didn't expect you to go all out. Did you know that the color red is the main attractant for men?"

"No, but lucky me," I said with fake enthusiasm as I loaded my plate with steak. "So what's the award-winning plan today Mr. Black?"

"Mr. Black," Sirius mused. "I rather like it when you say it. Sounds less harsh than teachers, I sound rather cunning and debonair, wouldn't you say?"

"Sure," I said not wanting to encourage him but also not wanting to put-down the person who is trying to help me. "So what's the great plan today Mr. Black?" I repeated.

Sirius shrugged, "no set plan today. It's not like my set plan worked last time. You're too much of a spastic for me to be able to peg the events that will go down. Just try not to run away from him this time."

"That's it? Your great plan is to make sure I don't run away this time? Well great Sirius, just bloody great. Gee, thanks for the help. Are you even sure he's going to show? Maybe he's got other friends to attend to, ones who have well thought out ideas and who-"

"Is that your copy of Heart of Darkness?" Remus's voice startled me so badly that I took one look at him standing across the table from me and threw the goblet that was in my hands at him.

I had knocked Remus onto the ground. He was on the ground, his eyes closed and unmoving. "Did I kill him?" I squealed. "Quick, someone tickle him awake."

"I think I saw him twitch," Sirius said, poking his best friend.

A low groan sounds from Remus's throat. Slowly he brings his hand up to his head and rubs it, wincing once he hits the small bump that has begun to form. "Go help him," Sirius whispers into my ear.

I look at Sirius and shake my head no but Sirius has other plans and pushes me off the bench and onto the floor so I am sitting right next to Remus. I try not to yell from hitting my tailbone on the floor and instead look at Remus whose eyes are open and looking at me tentatively.

"Um, sorry about the goblet," I say awkwardly. "I get spooked easily."

Remus looked me over, I think he was trying to remember who I was. Once his eyes caught mine recognition seemed to flash on his face and a small strained smile crossed his lips. "You never answered my question," he said slowly sitting up.

I titled my head to the side and furrowed my eyebrows, "you asked a question?" I said, hardly able to believe I was having a conversation with him.

"Yes, I asked if that was your book."

"Oh!" I said brightening. "Yes, it's one of my favorites."

A crooked smile formed on his lips. "One of mine too. Well, I can't very well get mad at someone with such excellent taste. I'm Remus, I don't believe we've formally met yet," he said smiling, tentatively holding out his hand. "Hope I don't scare you off this time," he said referring to the other days events.

I giggled and tried to hide my blushing face. I took his hand in mine and tried not to sequel from the shock of electricity that ran throughout my arm, "I'm Ella."

Our hands slowly came undone, I made sure to brush my fingers against his palm, wanting to feel him for as long as I could. He held my eyes, that adorable crooked smile on his face. The moment however was ruined when Peter came running up, farted on Remus, and ran away cackling.

Fantastic.

**A/N: I honestly have the best readers/reviewers ever :D 10 reviews on the first chapter? Amazing! It was just an idea I had in my head and didn't think I would get much encouragement from. And most of you are following from Duck and Cover, I can't tell you how thrilled I was. And thank you to the new readers as well! So what did you think of this chapter? Any suggestions on more awkward situations to put Ella/Remus in? What do you think of her relationship with Sirius. Don't worry, this won't turn into a Sirius/OC, I PROMISE! As always, lovely people of FF, leave a review :)**


	3. List

My awareness of Remus's presence went from faraway to observer to full-on watcher. Before I would notice him when he walked down the hallways or if he was near me in class, and I would spare a moment to think about how attractive he is or how good of a taste in books he has. Now, when I see him, I'm constantly reminded of our brief interaction and how his hands were as soft as an infants bum. He didn't seem effected at all by our interaction, not like I expected him to be. But I swear one day during lunch I saw him smile ever-so-slightly in my direction. However, I was so taken aback and didn't know what to do I panicked and shoved my face into my plate of potatoes.

Gwen was following my every actions from now. But lately she'd been distracted, this boy from Hufflepuff had been paying attention to her as of the late and she was less consumed in my life and for once entertained by her own.

It had been three days since my first interaction with Remus and he seemed as indifferent as ever. I was growing frustrated but when it came to him I was much too shy to actually act on anything or show any attention towards him so I kept to myself, watching him hopefully from time to time.

Because of the lack of interaction between us Sirius had jokingly suggested we do the typical makeover, and I start wearing stiletto heals everywhere and coat my eyes in eyeliner. However, he did give me a bottle of perfume that smelled of chocolate. I wasn't used to receiving gifts from guys though and the action was slightly awkward, I had yet to wear it I felt sort of weird putting it on and was slightly afraid it would turn out to smell like hippogriff dung or something. I didn't understand why Sirius was so invested in getting Remus and I together that the dedication to the project was slightly unnerving.

Late Friday night I was in the library, curled up in a plush chair, reading one of my favorite books Pride and Prejudice I felt like a cliché reading that book but it was one of my favorites and despite the fact that every girl says it's their favorite I feel like I've grown up with the book, and that everything that Jane and Elizabeth go through I've gone through. Heartbreak, family problems, unrequited love. Of course they get their happily ever after, and I'm still waiting.

A shadow cast over my book and I looked up and almost feinted when my eyes locked with a familiar set of soft amber eyes. Remus was looking at me sheepishly, the crooked smile on his face. "Ella, right?"

I hardly noticed he was talking, I was watching his lips carefully as they formed into letters. His lips were a light shade of pink, his bottom lip larger than his top, and they were cracked ever so slightly. I followed his lips up, taking in the brown scruff that decorated his face, the smallest batch of freckles on his nose that could hardly be seen, his amber eyes that glowed, and his dirty brown hair that stood up on the side, the scars that litter his face.

"Hm?" I asked, not having heard what he said.

Remus smiled at me and I felt myself melting. He looked so genuine and innocent when he smiled. "Ella, is it?" I nodded my head, "do you mind if I sit down?" He asked, gesturing towards the chair next to me.

"Of course!" I said a little too enthusiastically. If I had been too loud Remus made no indication and only smiled at me.

"What are you reading?" He asked, pointing at the book laying in my lap.

"Oh, Pride and Prejudice, one of my favorites." I said, hardly able to believe that so far I was having a relatively normal conversation with Remus.

"Classic," he agreed. "Speaking of books," he said digging into his backpack and pulling out a piece of parchment. He held out the parchment to me and looked nervous as I did so.

_Oh my Merlin is this a love letter?_

"Sirius suggested I should do this," Remus said tentatively as I grabbed the paper from his hand, making sure my fingers brushed against the back of his hand as I did it. I tried not to seem too eager while opening the parchment and gingerly unfolded the piece apart. I could feel Remus's eyes on me the entire time I did so and I tried not to blush.

Inside I was shaking, I couldn't imagine what it could be. When the final piece unfolded I opened it and my eyes scanned the piece of paper. They were books, a long list, of at least twenty. I looked up at Remus who was looking as embarrassed as I felt. It wasn't a love letter but it was definitely thoughtful, even if Sirius had been the one to suggest it. He could've easily just written down a book or two and thrown me the paper, instead it looked like he put a lot of thought into the list.

I looked up at Remus unable to hide my beaming. He was scratching the back of his head with a sheepish grin on his face. "I don't know if you haven't read some of them, but it's a list of some of my favorites and I figured I should share them with you."

"No, this is fantastic," I gushed. "I've been looking for a new book to read so this is really ace."

Remus visibly relaxed and sighed into his chair, looking more comfortable than he had before. "Great, I was afraid I was going to look like a complete tosser considering the two times we've met have been less than stellar moments."

"I don't know," I said safely tucking the piece of parchment into my skirt pocket. "I think Peter farting on you was a high point in my week."

Remus chuckled at the memory and ran the back of his hand along the scruff on his jaw. "That's Wor-Peter for you." Remus coughed and I couldn't help but notice he and Sirius had a tendency of saying people's names wrong. I wonder what's up with that... "Anyway, you're in our year right, Gryffindor?"

I nodded my head, I was surprised he knew even that much. However, Lily was in my year and her and James were always at each others throats -though not so much as of lately- so he was bound to see me around. "For seven years now," was my brilliant reply.

"I've seen you around, I don't know why we've never talked."

_That's because you're a demi-god and I have one friend._

I shrugged and tried to appear nonchalant. "It's not like I made much effort either. Let us both say we're at fault and call a truce." Remus smiled at me, his eyes lighting up. I still couldn't believe I had been this normal so far. Usually any interaction involving Remus involved bodily harm or flatulence. "Hey," I said suddenly having an idea. "Would you want me to write a list for you? It seems only fair. I mean, you may have read every book that I have but in the event you haven't-"

"No, that would be great," Remus said interjecting. "So, I can't help but notice that you've been spending some time with Sirius. Is there something I should know about?" He asked raising an inquisitive eyebrow.

With a sinking stomach I realize that Remus thinks I like Sirius. He's asking me probably figuring he can set us up or hurry along the process. I guess I could see where he's coming from, Sirius and I had hardly ever talked before and for the past few days I've been sitting by him for meals, and stopping to chat with him in the hallways. I had heard girls gossiping over how we've been seen talking lately, but I didn't think that Remus would think the same thing.

"No," I said quickly. "I mean, we're friends, I guess. We've uh, been talking about," I racked my brain for a common interest. "Quidditch," I quickly said. Truthfully I'm not the biggest Quidditch fan, I enjoy watching our teams play but I get bored fairly fast and don't understand how James and Sirius could go on about it for hours.

"Quidditch," Remus repeats in not an entirely convinced voice. "Well that certainly would be the subject of interest for him. What position does Sirius play again?"

"Um, beater?" I answer hopefully.

Remus chuckles and leans forward, his close proximity causing the breath to hitch in my throat. "Sirius doesn't play Quidditch." He said with a surprising grin on his face, the grin could only be described as wolfish, and incredibly sexy. His grin almost made me forget my face was beat red from being called out on my lie. "The only reason Sirius goes to Quidditch matches is for James, otherwise he couldn't really give a toss." Remus stood up and at first I thought I had offended him but he still had the same smile on his face. "It's okay Ella, I won't tell anyone. It's not like you're the first girl to pursue Sirius Black." He swung his backpack over his shoulder and I tried to correct him but he cut me off, "I'll see you around."

I opened my mouth to call his name but no sound came out. I looked at Remus desperately, hoping he would turn around so I could explain myself and tell him I wasn't interested in his mate but into him. Unfortunately Remus walked out of the library without so much as a second glance back at me. I slumped into my seat agitated, I was farther away from Remus liking me back than before.

**A/N: Okay, so what I'm really excited about is I've created the reason why Sirius wants Ella/Remus together so badly. Before I had a different reason but I've thought of something even BETTER and I'm really excited with what I can do with this plot idea which shall be revealed in the next chapter or so when I have it in either Remus or Sirius's POV. And I know James, Lily and Peter have yet to make an appearance so they shall be introduced into this story in the next chapter or so :) Thank you again to everyone whose reviewed I love you all! :)**


	4. Confusion and Plotting

_REMUS_

She's perfect! I don't know why I never thought of her before. Ella is smart, from conversations I've heard between her and Sirius she has a quick wit and she's not exactly the ugliest duckling, although she may be too smart but that doesn't matter much.

She get's embarrassed fairly easy but that trait is rather cute, as is the way her nose wrinkles when she laughs, the freckles on her face momentarily disappearing. She's perfect for Sirius, well perfect enough to ensure that I don't lose the bet. This celibacy bet we made a month ago is really starting to wear on all of us. I don't even know what sparked the bet to be made, probably had to do with Sirius and how he's always snogging girls.

Not to say I haven't had my fair share of girls to snog, but I'm a little kinder than Sirius is. If I'm snogging a girl I'll at least be nice to her and pay attention to her for a while until I've had my fun and the excitement wears. I know I sound shallow at times like these but I'm a teenage hormonal boy, I can't help it. And the other reason I don't like having girls around for too long is I'm afraid that one day one of them will catch onto me being a werewolf.

Anyway, back to the bet. I really can't afford to lose this bet, not only do we have to pay up two galleons but the person who loses has to kiss Snape. I really don't want to encourage my gag reflexes. So to ensure I don't lose I must persuade Sirius to get with Ella.

This shouldn't be too hard.

_SIRIUS_

My plan is working! Remus and Ella are talking in the library and she hasn't completely messed it up by faffing about and feinting or anything of the sort. She hasn't even noticed that Remus is eyeing her legs as she reads the list of books I told Remus to write for her.

I'm a genius, I really am. By writing that list I'm putting in Remus's head how many things he and Ella have in common. Before I know it Ella and Remus will be snogging left and right and I won't have to kiss Snape!

I know how people consider Remus the 'smart' one of our group but I really think I deserve more credit because I'm bloody brilliant sometimes. They should call me Sirius the Cunning or Sirius the Smartie. Either of those nicknames would be perfectly acceptable.

I hope she's wearing the perfume I got her. Remus will not be able to resist her once he smells the bottled chocolatey goodness. He'll be licking her neck and howling at the moon when I'm done with her. And it makes it loads easier that she's already in love with him. As soon as I caught her staring at Remus the plan started formulating in my head. It took me three days to actually address the situation and figure out how to propose the idea to her. I was pleasantly surprised when she went along with the plan, I could sense her doubt but her doubt didn't overrule her want for Remus and that's where I knew I had her. And it doesn't hurt that she's attractive. I wouldn't say she's the prettiest sheep in the herd but I'm sure she's had her share of men.

Oh no, Remus is leaving the library now and Ella is looking rather disgruntled, I'm guessing things didn't end well. She's looking rather hopefully at his back, poor girl. I wonder if it's wrong to be using her as a pawn in my scheme.

…..

Nah.

"Oh Moony," I sang as I caught up with him leaving the library. He looked shocked as I approached but slowed down so I could fall into step with him.

"Stalking me are you Sirius?" He joked.

"Never Moony, I was just merely walking by the library and saw a pretty cozy scene unfolding between my eyes."

"Oh, you mean Ella?" He said with a shrug. "Yeah we had a chat, I gave her the list of books, she seemed to like it." Remus drifted off but then looked back at me. "She's a really appreciative girl, you know. She has a lot going for her. I'm surprised a bloke hasn't snatched her up yet."

Yes! My plan is working. Remus is clearly already smitten with Ella. "Yeah, she's a great girl, really funny too. Have you seen her eyes?"

_REMUS_

This is going perfectly, Sirius is going on about Ella's eyes. It's clear he fancies her, lately he's either been talking about her to me or he's talking _to _her. I wonder if he's discreetly asking for my help so that he can bag her. She's different than the type he usually goes for. He typically goes for girls who are all brains and no substance.

Ella is pretty enough and has a lot of other things going for her, not saying she's perfect though. She's a little awkward at times and blurts out random things, not to mention she's really awkward with introductions and sometimes when she's nervous or excited her eyes get so large it's rather alarming, though charming at the same time.

"She seems rather normal," I chimed in after Sirius was done talking about her eyes. "Not bonkers like half of the female population here."

"And have you seen her legs?" I laughed, always trust Sirius to go strait to the physical aspect.

Although I can't lie and say I didn't notice she has a rather nice set of legs. I couldn't help but look at them while I was talking to her today. Her right leg was crossed over her left one and her foot was almost grazing my leg. They were a lovely pale shade, not too white and not dark. They looked creamy and smooth.

I knew my next compliment on Ella couldn't be her intellectual attributes, those things didn't really matter to Sirius all that much. I knew with him in concerns to Ella I would have to concentrate on talking about the physical. "She's got a rather nice curve to her, doesn't she? Not that waif look so many girls have going on."

"Right you are Moony, she's rather set on top." Sirius said with a sly smile directed at me.

_SIRIUS_

Unbelievable, I've never heard Remus talk about the physical aspects of a girl before. Usually he tries to convince us of her intelligence and commitment to work. He must really like this girl but I've got to remind him also of Ella's intelligence and wit otherwise he's going to get bored of her fast if there's not much substance to her, so I've got to make sure to keep reminding him that Ella is smart and witty.

"I mean, her body is great and all, don't get me wrong, but don't you feel there's so much _more _to her?" Remus seemed to think about it and nodded his head in agreement after a few moments. "She can be a bit fidgety at times, but she's a good laugh. And she's got brains too, I always see her walking around with a book tucked under her arm. I think she actually reads those books too, unlike that time when I tried to get that one hot brainy girl in fifth year and carried all my books around but had nude magazines hidden in them so while it looked like I was ready the books I was really just staring at naked girls."

"Your cleverness never ceases to amaze me, Pads. But her body, one of the best I've ever seen. It's too bad we have this celibacy bet going on. She would definitely be the kind of girl you would lose a bet for though."

Oh man, this is way too easy. Remus is practically ready to jump her bones. "Definitely," I agreed.

Remus is totally going to lose.

_REMUS_

This could not be going more perfect. Sirius basically just admitted that he would willingly lose the bet to get with Ella. Soon, Sirius will snog Ella and the bet will be over and our lives can go back to normal.

Sirius is totally going to lose.

**A/N: Okay so I hope you weren't too confused by all the POV changes but I thought it was comical, I hope you guys did too! And I know Sirius's thoughts were scattered, he would be thinking one thing and then be talking about something else completely different. I imagine him slightly ADD so I hope it's not too confusing. Also I'm afraid Ella is coming off too Mary-Sue so I'm trying not to make her too pretty, or too funny, or TOO anything. She must have faults like all of us so I hope she's not Mary-Sue :/ Let me know if it ever starts heading that direction though!**


	5. Changes

I really wish I could whistle. It looks so simple when people do it. They purse their lips and blow out air, a soft ringing sound coming out. Whenever I try to whistle I just wind up spitting on whoever is near me and look like I'm blowing out candles on a cake. To many people this may not seem like a big deal, not being able to whistle doesn't exactly grant me permission to use the handicapped stall in the loos. But with my luck I know there will come a life or death event where I am forced to whistle and if I don't I will be beheaded.

"Stop trying to whistle, you're spitting food bits on me," Gwen complained at dinner.

"I must practice on every occasion in the event whistling becomes a matter of life or death."

"I don't know why I've chosen to be friends with you. Maybe I should consider my other options," Gwen said looking around the Great Hall.

"Please, who else would be friends with you? You're obnoxious."

Gwen pulled a face and flicked a pea at me. The pea landed directly in my eye. "What the fuck Gwen," I said clasping one hand over my eye and my other hand was gesturing wildly. "How could you do that! Now I'm going to have to wear an eye-patch and people will make pirate jokes at me." I threw my free hand behind me in frustration and I hit something behind me. I turned around and stared -with my good eye- at Remus Lupin lying on the ground holding his crotch and rolling around in pain.

I just accidentally assaulted Remus Lupin's penis.

This really isn't how I imagined the first time going. I thought somewhere along the lines of rose petals on the ground and bed. Classical music playing in the background and maybe a rhythmic steel drum played by Sirius Black echoing from the bathroom.

You know, typical things teenage girls hope for when thinking of having sex with Remus Lupin. I was determined that the next time I had sex with a person for the first time it would be better than my actual first time which ended with a black eye and a limp.

I should probably concentrate on Remus, a person who I've been just prevented from ever pro-creating.

"I'm so sorry," I said rushing down to him and without thinking hugged him. For a moment he stopped writhing on the floor and we both realized how awkward of a position we were in. He was curled into a ball, his hands on his crotch, while I was hugging his back, one arm around his neck and the other around his waist. It looked like we were spooning on the Great Hall floor.

"Er-it's okay," Remus said awkwardly.

I stood up and dusted myself off, looking around the Great Hall to make sure no one saw it. Unfortunately the whole Great Hall, and the teachers were staring at us. Remus stood up and smoothed out his cloak, flashing a smirk. "Next time just ask."

Oh Merlin kill me now. Remus is giving me one of those smirks that make me want to jump his bones and his suggestive comment isn't helping the matter. He may be the quietest of his group but Remus had snide witty remarks that usually caught people off guard.

"I'm so sorry," I breathed, trying to hide the blush that was taking over my entire face. "My hand has a mind of it's own and tends to rush towards a target without my permission."

"You have a vey perverted hand."

His wolfish grin had me swooning and left me dazed, which is why I said this, "my hand likes penis."

Remus looked unaffected and casually responded, "I'll keep that in mind."

I sat back down on my bench, with the intention of turning away to further prevent myself from saying anything else but Remus had other plans. He placed one hand on the table next to me and leaned down so that he was close to my face. My breath hitched in my throat and my face flushsed.

"I was wondering if you wanted to study later in the library." He said in a dangerously low voice.

"By myself? Yeah, I was already planning on it."

Remus chuckled, "I meant with me."

"What?" I asked not able to believe what was going on. Was Remus Lupin really asking me to go to the library with him? It's not exactly the let's go snog in a broom cupboard proposal I was expecting but it certainly was enough excitement for me to carry through till Christmas.

"Library, eight o'clock. I'll see you there."

He turned and left the Great Hall without another word. I've got to say his confidence is a little distracting, and not necessarily in a good way. The reason I had always liked Remus was because even though he was attractive and funny he was quiet and didn't use his looks to get women. He was acting like Sirius and it was a little off-putting. I liked the tentative quiet Remus better. His quietness led to be more observant, I always thought that he saw through people and could really get down to their core, that's what was so appealing about him. In fact, it was because of that trait was the real reason why I started noticing him, it was because he noticed me.

_It was third year and I was leaving Potions class. James and Sirius went running past me and knocked into me, the impact was hard and I fell down, my books and ink scattering on the ground. I cursed under my breath as I gathered up my things. Suddenly another hand reached out and started gathering my things. I looked up and was surprised to see Remus Lupin kneeling in front of me._

_He looked up at me and gave me a shy smile. "Sorry about them, they get carried away some times too much energy, I've been telling them to cut down on their sugar intake."_

_I stared at Remus curiously, not able to say anything. I was silent as I stared at him through my bangs, my hair blocking my view. Suddenly Remus reached out and brushed my hair away from my eyes. "That's better, now I can see you." He smiled one last time and handed over my books before standing up and following after his friends._

That's when I fell for Remus, he saw me, he took the time to observe me. He wasn't like James or Sirius or Peter who were too wrapped up in themselves to notice anyone else. But Remus was quiet and took his time and observed. But now, now he was just like the others.

Despite my dissapointment with Remus I still met him at the library later that night. He was already there sitting in a plush chair, a book in his hand. I couldn't help but smile to myself as I watched him. This was the Remus I knew, the slightly withdrawn person I fell for all those years ago. His brow was furrowed in consentration but a serene look graced his face, momentarily blinding me from the scars that littered his body.

Maybe the Remus that I'd seen the past few days had been a fluke, maybe the Remus that had written me a list of his favorite books was back. I set down my books by his chair and he looked up. A smile graced his face but soon morphed into a smirk. I could feel my hope draining and I sighed heavily as I sat down in my chair.

_REMUS_

Well that was odd. One minute she looked happy to see me and the next she looked dissapointed. She certainly was an unpredictable bird. Maybe I just needed to lay some charm on her more, that usually worked for Sirius. Me trying to be charming and more smoothe was awkward most of the time. I better related to Ella, constantly saying embarassing things, but I knew that in order to get her to hang out with me more to set her up with Sirius I would have to act like Sirius. Who wants to hang out with someone quiet that would rather be reading a book than out in society anyway?

"Is something the matter?" I asked.

She looked nervous at my question and bit the inside of her lip while crossing one leg over the other. The action was rather distracting as the skirt shifted higher up on her legs and revealed smoothe milky white skin. "I don't know if it's my place to say anything but you've been acting weird the past few days."

I looked at her, so she had noticed my change. But instead of her seeming to like the change she seemed put-off by it. "What do you mean?" I asked making sure that she wasn't talking about something else. I mean, I hardly knew this girl, how would she be able to tell I had changed so easily?

She looked even more nervous and I felt momentarily bad for making her so uncomfortable but I wanted to hear what she had to say. She licked her lips carefully and chewed on her bottom lip, the effect was very distracting and it was clear she had no idea she was doing it. "Well, I don't really know if it's my place to say anything."

"No please, go ahead."

She sucked in a deep breath, "well you're acting like...well-Sirius. Not to say that being Sirius is bad it's just that, well, there's already one of him should the world really be allowed more than one? Youve always been the quiet but thoughtful one of the group, that's what was so appealing about you. Er-" she looked down in embarssament. "What I meant to say is that you were fine how you were. There was no need to change."

She slowly raised her eyes to look at me. I was floored, she actually noticed me when I was the quiet Marauder. Not only noticed, because most people noticed me because of who I hung out with, but seemed to understand me. I opened my mouth to reply but was cut off by Sirius who came traipezing in.

"Sorry I'm late Remus, ran into Snivellus on the way. Oh," he said looking between me and Ella. "Am I interrupting something?"

Ella looked upset and slouched in her chair and pulled out a book from her backpack. She sighed heavily and didn't spare one glance at Sirius.

Maybe getting her and Sirius to get together will be harder than I planned...

**A/N: Okay so this chapter is different, less funny but I needed to start establishing Remus/Ella because up until now we've only seen why Ella likes him but we've got to start seeing Remus noticing her, slowly, but it will happen. Tell me what you think :) 18 reviews on my last chapter? You guys are awesome!**


	6. SemiComfortable

The bath is scalding hot, just the way I like it. I slowly lower myself into the tub, letting my body adjust to the hot water. I tied my hair up on top of my head and poured myself a large glass of red wine once my full body was submerged. I picked up a book and settled into the tub, taking a sip from the wine and starting my day of binge reading.

I'd been waiting for the first Hogsmeade trip for months now. Ever since fifth year, after the shops had grown tiresome of visiting time after time, I would stay at Hogwarts and spend the day in the bahttub reading and drinking. I had six books laying beside me and three bottles of wine waiting to be drunk. I leaned over the edge of the table and picked up the first book I had lined up. It was called Something Happened about a man who had it all and then lost it all. It was the first book on Remus's list.

I cracked open the book, the satisfactory feeling of the books bindings giving away as it's opened for the first time. Hours slipped away unnoticed by me as I quickly turn the pages in my book, completely immersed in the story. The only indication that a lot of time had passed was that my book was almost done and the wine supply was running low. The bathroom showed no time, there were no windows surrounding me to indicate it was light or dark outside, the candles were the only thing illuminating the space.

As I finished the last page of my book I began feeling typsy. I had only eaten breakfast today and I was sure it was closer to dinner than it was to lunch. With a satisfying snap I closed my book and set it beside me reflecting on the story. Remus, as always, had excellent taste in books.

I debated on reading another book but my rumbling stomach decided against it. Slowly I pulled myself out of the water, the alcohol and lack of eating sinking in as I wrapped my body in a towel and slightly stumbled as I made my way over to my bed. I cast a drying charm on my body and threw my hair up into a pony tail that I'm sure, considering my slightly drunk state, looked like a werewolf had attacked it. I pulled on shorts and a baggy sweatshirt that belonged to my older brother. I dug in my sock drawer and settled for a red sock and white sock that matched enough to pass. I couldn't find my shoes so decided against them as I made my shaky way downstairs.

I wasn't drunk, I could still control most of my actions and I'm sure my words would make sense when they came out of my mouth, but I was definitley feeling giddy. There were hardly any people in the common room, I looked at the clock and saw it was five. I had been in the bathtub longer than I had thought and everyone who had stayed behind would most likely be at dinner by now.

I hummed to myself as I walked to the Great Hall. Staring at the pictures, endlessly amused by their antics in the frames. Once in the Great Hall I was surprised and happy to see Remus sitting at the table. He was alone, flipping through a book while eating steak. I happily made my way over to him and flopped down next to him on the bench. He looked at me a little startled but then broke out into a smile.

"Hello Ella, I didn't know you stayed behind today." He looked me up and down and surveyed my outfit. "Er-been sleeping all day have you?"

"Nope," I said shaking my head and letting a giggle escape my lips. "I've been in the bath all day reading and drinking."

"Drinking you say? I never would've guessed," he said with a sly smile. I'd missed that smile. It wasn't like the fake one he'd had the past few days, it was the Remus smile. The smile that was slightly mysterious but kind and gentle. Not to mention completely sexy.

"I finished Something Happened." I said as I started to help myself to toast.

"Really?" Remus asked looking slightly impressed. "Just today?"

I nodded my head and bit into my toast, convering my mouth with my hand as I chewed and talked to him. "Yes sir, back to front. I mean, front to back," I said giggling again. I get awfully giggly when I'm drunk, I hope Remus doesn't think it's annoying. "So why aren't you at Hogsmeade?"

Remus shrugged and cut himself a large piece of steak. "I wasn't feeling great today, so I decided to stay behind."

I looked at Remus and noticed that there were bags under his eyes and he looked paler than usual. "You know what's the cure for the common illness and also goes great with steak?"

Remus quirked an eyebrow and looked at me in amusment. "What would that be Ella?"

I liked the way he said my name. When he said the a in my name it was like a breathy whisper. "Wine," I said with a large smile. I couldn't believe how normal I was acting in front of Remus, flirtatious even. Maybe I needed to get drunk before I talked to Remus everytime. Liquid courage in it's purest form.

Remus debated my proposal for a few moments before breaking out into a grin, "sounds great. I'll rally up some of this food and set it up in my room and you grab the wine and we can wine and dine in my room."

I was dazed for a moment, I hadn't expected him to invite me to his room. I thought we would just hang out in the common room or something, in fact I mostly suspected he would reject my proposal as he is a Prefect and drinking on school grounds is strictly prohibited. But I didn't let my sudden anxiousness show and agreed to the deal and practically skipped to my room and retrieved a bottle of wine.

I didn't want to seem too eager and go to his room right away so I walked over and checked out my appearance in the mirror. The events that had just occurred had midly sobered me, along with the bit of toast I had eaten.

I was midly horrified when I looked in the mirror. My hair was half out of the ponytail, half splayed all around my head. My socks were not even close to matching, nor the same height. I looked like a drunken mess. I quickly took down my hair and set it into a side braid. Then I replaced my socks with my black slippers and applied a little mascara.

After having wasted enough time I walked down the stairs and to the boys dormitory. I had never been in their room before, although many girl's had, it's not like it was any secret that they would take their conquests up there. It was rumored that they had a calender on the walls setting aside particular times for each of them to bring up a girl. I didn't believe the rumor but that wouldn't stop me from looking for one.

One I'd reached the seventh year boys door I knocked hesitantly. From the other side I heard Remus call, "come in." And I slowly opened the door. I looked around the room and it wasn't nearly as messy as I thought it would be. Remus was standing off on the far side of the room near the bed by the window. I guessed that it was his bed and as I neared it it became painfully obvious it was his. The ground around his bed was littered with books and parchment. I had always thought Remus would be clean and tidy but he may have been the messiest of the four.

"Sorry it's so dirty, me and organization do not go well together," he said giving me a sheepish grin. "Anyway, dinner is served, sorry if it's a little cold. Girls' always take bloody ages to get anywhere."

Remus gestured towards the bed and I looked at the setup he had created. There were two large steaks on two plates and in the middle sat biscuits, potatoes, and vegetables. He had pulled his nightstand so that is was against the side of the bed with two goblets resting on it. I suddenly felt nervous as I settled onto his bed and Remus sat opposite of me. He looked unaffected by the situation as he poured two glasses of wine. It oddly felt like a date to me. I don't think he even realized what he was doing. I'm sure he was just being nice and was bored having no one else to hang out with all day.

I quickly drank half of the glass of wine, trying to quelm my nerves. "So this is the infamous bedroom of your group." I said glancing around while chewing on a bite of steak.

"Oh yes, quite unimpressive after all the hype."

"Well I half expected the beds to be carved from gold and naked women."

"Yes, well we do try and act like mere mortals here and there."

"The illusion is shattered."

"Try not to tell anyone, I've got to keep up appearences and all."

I sniggered and shoveled a forkfull of potatoe into my mouth as a semi-comfortable silence fell between us. I only say semi because Remus and I really don't know each other that well but fine enough where silence while eating doesn't immediatley lead to awkwardness.

"So," Remus said after a few moments of semi-comfortable silence. "When did you and Sirius become friends?"

I swallowed my food and internally sighed. This was the second time he's brought up Sirius since I've known him, and that one time at the library I think he was trying to set us up. I realized I had to answer him and knew that saying the reason why Sirius came up to me that one fateful day was because he wanted to set us up wasn't an adequate answer.

"I don't know I think he got bored one day and decided to find someone to annoy and was amused enough by me to keep me around."

"Are you sure there's not something more between you two?"

The grip on my utensils tigthened as I tried not to lash out at Remus and scream 'no you daft twat there isn't because I've fancied the pants off of you before I lost all my baby teeth.' But instead I said, "no there isn't. I mean he's a good looking chap and all but not my type."

"Not your type?" Remus said quirking an eyebrow. "Are you saying devishly handsome and hopelessly charming isn't your type?"

"No, but you sound awfully keen on him, why don't you give a go at him."

Remus laughed and shrugged. "I thought you fancied him is all."

"No, I fancy someone else," oh crap, I shouldn't have said that. Now he's going to interrogate me on who I fancy and somehow turn it around to Sirius and how I should fancy Sirius. This really isn't how I imagined my interactions with Remus going when I dreamed about them at night.

"Oh yeah, who?" He asked predictably.

"Like I would tell you, you would probably go around blabbing it to the entire school trying to play match maker."

"Oh give me a hint," Remus pleaded. Honestly, he sounded like a woman right now, this isn't a side of him I find particularly attractive.

"No," I said shaking my head firmly.

"Do I know the bloke?"

"Our school isn't very big so I would hope so."

"Alright, well if you won't tell me who then tell me the type of guy you go for."

I sighed and debated on the question. There were other guys who were similar to Remus and if I was very vague about the description then he may leave me alone long enough where I could create other diversions so that he wouldn't catch on it was him. "I don't like show-offs for one, so that definitley eliminates James and Sirius. But I don't like recluse people either. I want someone whose low key but can also have fun. I like someone with similar interests as me, such as music and books. You know, the usual things girls want from men."

Remus was silent and for a moment I was scared he was going to catch onto who the person was. Instead he shrugged and said, "I can't think of anyone like that."

Honestly, for someone so smart he can sure be clueless.

**A/N: Alright so I actually really liked this chapter. Not much happened in terms of plot development but for the first time I could actually see Remus/Ella as a couple, could you? I'm really falling in love with this pairing and I hope I've convinced you guys of it as well. Do you like my depiction of Remus? I wanted to make him a little diferent then how other people do him. He's usually super quiet and introverted, but he was a Marauder and did partake in pranks. So let me know if you hate my version of Remus or love it. Leave a review to let me know :) Oh, and for some reason my spell check decided to crap out on me halfway through writing this chapter so if there's some typos please excuse them.**


	7. Head Bathrooms

_REMUS _

I can't quite figure out Ella. Then again, I've never been good at figuring out the female species in general. It's like they purposefully try to be as vague as possible. If it weren't for their boobs guys wouldn't pay attention to them. Guys are so easy, if we like you we'll show you we like you, we won't play games. Girl's think that flirting with other guys and not flirting with you is the most direct way of telling the guy they like them. I don't know who decided this was a good idea and passed it around. Whoever started this theory should be killed.

My plan to get Sirius and Ella together is not working one bit. Every time I mention Sirius Ella sighs as if she's annoyed by him and responds with short answers. Although, that's how girls usually react, isn't it? They act and say they don't like a bloke when they really do. So if I'm thinking in girl code Ella is madly in love with Sirius.

Then why is getting them together so difficult?

"Moony," James moaned as he barged into the room, flopping dramatically onto his bed and letting out a heavy sigh.

"What?" I asked, annoyed he disrupted my thought process.

"It's Lily," _of course it is. "_She's been paying attention to me, and not in the 'I'm going to hex your face so it looks like your bum' kind of way."

"You're saying this like it's a bad thing."

"It is," James wailed. "If Lily wants on me I can't pursue it because of this sodding bet."

"Well," I said slowly looking for a window of opportunity. Maybe if I could get James to fold then I wouldn't have to set up Ella and Sirius. "You could forfeit the bet, you know. You've been wanting Lily for five years or so now, you could ruin progress by denying her."

James turned his head so that he was looking at me. His glasses were hanging crooked on his face and his hair was sticking up at odd angles, "Moony, are you mad? I love my Lily-Pad more than life itself but I do not even want to begin to think of the diseases I would catch if I laid my lips on Snivellus's. Not to mention I wouldn't want Lily-Doodle catching whatever poisons Snivellus has lurking under his pin thin excuse for lips."

"You seem like you've been studying Snape's lips quite closely."

"Shut it," James said flipping onto his back and staring at the ceiling. Every motion the boy made was some dramatic sweep, nothing he did was quiet. "So, who was the girl you had in here last night? I've seen Sirius with her a few times as well, I'm feeling slightly put off not knowing her."

I sighed and looked anxiously fiddled with my blanket. Towards the end of dinner the lads had come back from Hogsmeade and walked in on me and Ella in the middle of dinner. Ella was embarrassed and quickly rushed out of the room, making the situation look like something it wasn't. I quickly tried to think of an excuse as to why she was here, I couldn't very well tell James I was using Ella as bait so that I wouldn't lose the bet because he would tell Sirius.

"She's just a friend," I said lamely.

"She's pretty attractive, you should go for her Remus. Wait, isn't she the one that sack tapped you?"

"Do you have to be so crass about those sort of things?" I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed, "but yes, that is her."

"I think that you may have lost the best, dearest Moony."

"Oh please Prongs, if I'm going to lose the bet I better have a hand down my pants not grazing them."

"Do you have to be so crass?" James said mocking me. "So I've had a brilliant idea."

"Fantastic," I said dryly.

"Since we can't actually touch women," James continued, not catching onto the fact that I couldn't give a toss what he had to say. "I thought there's no harm in friendly gazing. I propose the idea of a party in the Head boy and girl's bathroom. The bathtub is even larger than the Prefects and would give girls an excellent excuse to get into bikinis, which in turn would leave us with some excellent gawking."

"And loads of cold showers."

"Moony, stop being such a downer. I don't know about you, but this whole girl thing is taking its toll on me."

"James, when is the last time you snogged a girl? You swore off girls fifth year saying Lily was the only one for you."

"Yes, but now I don't even have the option, should an attractive girl come up to me and I decide to throw caution to the wind and forget about Lily for a few hours of glory."

I sighed and weighed the options. I would be able to see girls out of their uniforms which would be a welcomed site. The down, I would see girls out of their uniforms and possibly have even more problems with this bet than before. And for some reason the image of Ella in a skimpy bathing suit keeps flashing through my head. This could be a dangerous night but my hormones overruled my sensical side which is why I said to James, "I'll bring the chocolate."

_ELLA_

Who would even think of bringing a bathing suit to Hogwarts? Aside from Lily Evans who is constantly prepared for everything, no one. While Lily slipped on her modest green swimsuit, the rest of us were forced into undergarments. I tried to wear boxer shorts and a t-shirt but everyone quickly told me that that would not do, and Gwen reminded me that if I wanted any chance in hell to get Remus I would have to reveal more than that. So now I'm stuck in a cream laced bra and black underwear. I felt exposed and quickly threw on a sweatshirt and sweatpants over it, hoping that I wouldn't have to take them off at any point tonight.

Gwen, Lily, Marlene and Dorcas were waiting for me as I wasted time, trying to prolong the party. All the girls in my room were stick thin, I was the only one who had curves out of them. So next to them I would look like a giant. They're always walking around in their bras and underwear and not a piece of them jiggles when they walk, nor do they have the tinniest bit of cellulite.

"Hurry up El," Lily hissed. "James is waiting for us at the stairs to escort us to the heads bathroom."

"I don't see why we need an escort." I huffed as I threw on my shoes.

"Because it's after hours and I couldn't afford to get caught."

"Speaking of which, why did you agree to do this? This seems very un-Lily." I said as we walked down the stairs.

"Oh," Lily blushed. "You know, I like to have fun here and there. It's our last year," once we'd reached the bottom of the stairs Lily and James locked eyes and she blushed profusely.

_So that's why._

"Ladies, don't you all look lovely." James said with his trademark grin. "And I don't believe we've officially met, I'm James Potter." James said walking over to me and extending his hand.

"Ella," I said shaking it. James winked at me and turned to the five of us.

"Well, now that we're all here I've been told the coast is clear but we must hurry because I don't know how long that will last for."

James guided us out of the common room and we all walked quickly and silently to the Heads bathroom. The walk didn't take very long and was on the third floor. I was surprised when we stopped in front of a simple wooden door as I'd walked the path many times before but I'd never seen it. James withdrew his wand and muttered something under his breath. The door flew open and voices reached our ears. We stepped inside the bathroom and I was shocked, you could hardly call it a bathroom.

It was huge with a bath that was nearly the size of a swimming pool. Bubbles overflowed from the bathtub and onto the floor. There were at least six other people there, all down to their bathing suits and swimming. I searched around and found Remus sitting on the edge of the tub with Peter, their feet dangling in the water as some seventh year Ravenclaw girls splashed in the water trying to get Sirius's attention while he chatted with a bloke from Hufflepuff.

"I thought this was only going to be for Gryffindor," Lily hissed to James.

James shrugged and gave her an innocent look, "I can't help who my friends invite."

Lily rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Whatever Potter," Lily said kicking off her shoes and throwing off her shirt. She ran to the bathtub and jumped in, James's eyes following her the entire time.

The rest of the girls started pealing off their clothes and I hung back awkwardly, not wanting to disrobe. I looked up and Remus caught my eye and waved at me. I waved back awkwardly and could feel my cheeks redden as I took in Remus's naked chest. He didn't have as much muscle as James who was in quidditch, but he wasn't exactly bad to look at either. He was a little skinny and didn't have much definition but he had two lines at his pelvic bones that traveled down his waist. And that little patch of hair that traveled from his belly button past the waist of his boxers was out in the open. I almost sighed out loud, good thing Gwen was there to snap me out of it.

"Ella, stop staring, it's rude," she said giving me a sly smile. "Now get out of your frumpy gear and join the rest of us. I'll grab us some firewhiskey." She darted off to the corner where a tub of liquor was. I felt like a teenage cliché right now, watching girls walk around in bras and underwear and drinking. If only I had a theme song for my life. I wonder what that theme song would be.

I didn't have time to pick out my theme song however, as Sirius came strolling up to me. I couldn't help but have a 'whoa' moment as he walked up. Water was cascading down his body and his black hair was slicked back, his grey eyes focused on me. For a moment I almost forgot about Remus.

"El Bell, what are you doing in that get-up? Why don't you join the rest of us?" Sirius said throwing an arm around me, soaking my sweatshirt.

"I'm cold," I said weakly.

Sirius laughed, "don't make me hex the clothes off of you. Now join in on the fun and stop being such a square. I'll leave you to it, I've got to go and impress the ladies." Sirius winked at me and wondered off to the bathtub again.

I sighed and gave up figuring people would be pressuring me all night if I didn't join in. I slipped my pants off and kicked them to the edge and hesitated before pulling the sweatshirt over my head and running into the bathtub before people could get a good look at me. The water was warm and the bubbles made the air smell like lavender.

"Finally," Gwen said swimming over to me. "You better start putting your goods on display, looks like Marlene has beat you to the punch." I looked over by Remus and saw Marlene sitting next to him. She had her arm on his shoulder as she threw back her head and laughed, sticking out her chest in the process. I could feel jealously boiling up inside of me and adverted my eyes, not wanting to watch a girl throw herself on Remus.

"I'm going to get a drink," I muttered to Gwen and swam over to the other side of the bathtub. I stepped out of the tub and walked over to where the alcohol was and started digging through. I wasn't much of a firewhiskey fan, the taste was unbearable, I would have to be already drunk in order to drink that.

I sighed and settled for a Red Currant Rum. I stood up from the crouching position I was in and turned around. When I turned around however I was met with a hard object, mainly Remus's bare chest. My entire body was pressed up against Remus, I could feel his hot skin touching mine, from this close I could see all the scars that littered his body, I wonder where those scars come from. Slowly, I raised my eyes to meet his, he was already staring down at me an unreadable expression on his face. He gave me a small smile and I realized the position we were in and quickly jumped back, embarrassed.

"I have something for you," Remus said almost shyly. He jerked his head to the side and started walking, I followed after behind him. He walked over to his clothes pile and pulled something out of his robes, when he turned around he held a red bottle of wine in his hands. "I made a special request for this when James and Sirius were getting supplies." He looked embarrassed as he held out the red wine to me.

I couldn't believe how thoughtful Remus was. I took the red wine bottle from him and gave him the biggest smile I could manage, although I didn't have to force it, this simple thought from Remus had made my day, maybe even week.

"If you don't want it you don't have to drink it," Remus said awkwardly, running a hand through his wet hair.

"No, this is perfect! I hate hard liquor," I said smiling. Remus looked relieved and dropped his hand from his hair smiling at me. "Do you want some?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said smiling even wider and taking the bottle from me, using a spell to get the cork out. He handed it back to me and I took a sip from the bottle, handing it back over to Remus.

"So are these types of parties normal for you guys?"

Remus shrugged, "I guess. It's more of James and Sirius's thing then mine, not that I can't say I don't enjoy the benefits of these parties." He said looking down at me. I blushed and turned away, taking a larger gulp of wine. "Hey," Remus said putting his hand on my bare arm. His touch caused my skin to burn. "You never made me that list of books."

"Oh right," I said trying to not react to the fact that Remus's hand was still on my arm. "I'll make one for you tomorrow."

Remus smiled down at me and I was still alarmingly aware of the fact that his hand was on my arm. However, it dropped the instant Marlene came strolling over. "Oh Remus," she sang. "What are you doing over here?" She asked shooting me a glare.

"Talking to Ella," Remus said smoothly.

"Well come and join the rest of us," Marlene said taking Remus's arm and guiding him away from me. I walked to keep up with them, not wanting to be left standing by myself. I walked in front of Marlene and Remus, it was clear he wanted to be with her and not me. However, while I walked in front of Marlene I didn't see her foot sticking out and tripped over it. I had no time to react and the wine bottle went flying from my hand and I heard it crash to the ground. I was so surprised by it that I didn't stick my hands out to protect myself and my face hit the ground, my body landing in small shards of glass. When I stood up blood was pouring from my nose and various parts of my body. I took one look at Remus's horrified face and ran out of the bathroom.

**A/N: I'm not too pleased with this chapter. I really am starting to like my Remus though I know a slightly pervy Remus isn't what you're all used to but he is a hormonal boy and I know we all view him as holy-er than though but he did like women. So anyway, review, even though this kind of sucked. And again, I'm leaving for the air force the 18th so for 2 ½ months I won't be able to update after that so I'm trying to turn out chapters quickly :( But I WILL be back around mid-march.**


	8. Author's note

Hey everyone! So I was hoping that I would update this before I left for basic for the air force but I ran out of time and have been insanely busy and I tried really hard to produce a chapter but couldn't pull it together and I'm so sorry but I WILL be back in 2 ½ months and I'll be missing you all, I've been getting so much support on this story I cannot even believe it. You guys are amazing. Be safe and enjoy yourselves! I'll see you in 2 months :)

~Lauren


	9. Chapter 8

My wet feet hit the cold stone floors, my tracks leaving marks on the ground. I pinched my nose trying to keep it closed, preventing the blood from flowing down my face. My body stung from the small cuts I had acquired from falling on the small shards of glass that had decorated the floor from the broken wine bottle. I didn't know where I was running, my eyes were blurred and the scenery wasn't all too familiar.

"Ella," I whipped around at the sound of my name without thinking. It was like a knee-jerk reaction. A few feet behind me, clad in only his boxers with clothing and a piece of paper in his hands, was Sirius. I had hoped at first that it was Remus that had followed me and was slightly disappointed, then again I didn't exactly want Remus to see me looking like this. I had already embarrassed myself enough.

I stopped in the hallway and Sirius caught up to me, taking me by the arm and dragging me into an empty classroom. "What the bloody hell were you thinking running off on your own in the middle of the night? Filch could've caught you and we'd all be in trouble, luckily he's on the other side of the castle."

"How do you know where Filch is?" I asked curiously, taking notice of the fact that Sirius's face was ridden with guilt as he hastily stuffed a piece of parchment into his the band of his boxers.

"Secret," Sirius said tapping his nose and giving me a smirk. "You're soaking wet," Sirius deduced. He took out his wand and waved it, instantly drying my body and hair. "Not much I can do about the blood," Sirius said, pinching my chin with his thumb and index finger as he examined my face. "I grabbed your clothes, put them on and I'll take you to to the hospital wing."

I made a move to object but Sirius silenced me with one look. I wordlessly grabbed my clothing from his hands and carefully slipped on my clothes. The fabric brushed up against my open wounds and I couldn't help but wince slightly from the brief stinging pain.

"You look like shit," Sirius said as he continued to inspect me.

"Wow, with talk like that Sirius I can only assume you're trying to get me in bed," I muttered sarcastically.

Sirius chuckled and stepped towards me. "Your nose doesn't look broken," he said inspecting it. "How does it feel?"

"Like I slammed it into the floor."

Sirius chuckled and took my hand, leading me out of the room. "Marlene was barking out of order."

"It was just an accident," I said half-heartedly. Truthfully I wasn't entirely sure, I was a pretty graceful person and I couldn't think of another time in my life where I would trip.

"I'm not so sure about that, Remus is giving her a proper tell-off right now."

"Remus is sticking up for me?" I asked, not able to hide the satisfaction in my voice. However, I was afraid that now because of this there would be some discourse between Marlene and I. Marlene and I had never exactly been friends but we got on fine enough, never had any fights or anything of the sort. She and Lily tended to hang out together along with some girl's from Ravenclaw. Both she and Lily were the smartest girls in our year and Marlene was probably one of the best at defense against the dark arts. To say she was an intimidating would be an understatement.

"You sound surprised."

"Well, I hardly know him, and you guys have been friends with Marlene for a long time now."

"We're not really friends with her. She's a good friend of Lily and Lily and Remus are friends. I think any of us would prefer you over Marlene."

"I think you're giving me too much credit."

Sirius chuckled and shook his head. "You underestimate yourself, you're very charming."

"If by charming you mean I'm a bumbling spaz anytime Remus comes within five feet of me then you're spot on."

Sirius laughed and threw his arm around my shoulders, "here's a tip for you; confidence is sexy. Embrace it. And if you can't, wear shorter skirts."

"Thanks for the tip o' wise one," I muttered under my breath. Sirius laughed loudly and I could feel his body shake as it leaned against me. His hand moved down my shoulder and brushed a particularly deep cut. I winced and shrank away from him. Sirius dropped his arm and frowned as he looked at me.

"I'm going to bleeding murder Marlene," Sirius said.

"Don't worry about her," I said in a low voice as we neared the hospital wing, pushing open the double oak doors. "Leave it up to me."

Healing all my wounds took longer than Sirius and I expected. Each cut needed to be paid individual attention to, and considering I had many scattered across my body Madame Pomphrey was kept busy for quite some time.

"So let me get this right," Madame Pomphrey said as she waved her wand over my wounds. "You and Mr. Black were in the common room and you had a glass cup. You tripped over an ottoman in the common room and your nose hit the coffee table. You then fell into the shards of glass which were scattered across the floor from dropping the cup and breaking it, is this correct?"

"Yes," I said confidently, thinking the story we had invented was solid enough to believe.

"Well then," Madame Pomphrey sighed as she finished healing the last wound. "You're free to go Ms. Vaughn, there shouldn't be any problems but if you have an residual pain feel free to pop by."

"Thank you," I said throwing off my nightgown and putting on my regular clothes. I stepped into my shoes and threw open the curtain where Sirius was waiting on the other side for me. He hopped up from his chair and we started making our way towards the door.

"What I find most interesting about your situation, Ms. Vaughn, is how you acquired all those cuts on your body with your clothes on." She gave me a knowing smile before turning away and going into her office.

**A/N: Hey everyone! So I have no excuse for this horribly late update. I graduated from the air force basic military training end of March and since then I've been horribly busy. Last week I got to my duty station (las vegas baby) and I've finally settled in here and have had some time to breath! Thus I present you this chapter! Which isn't great...at all. Really horrible I am sorry but the next chapter is going to be good (I think)! So hang with me, I just knew I needed to give you guys something so I wasn't dead! Please forgive this chapter, the next one is gonna be good, you've got my word ;)**


	10. Chapter 9

_Remus_

She has to be doing this on purpose, there is no way she is accidentally eating a grape with that much concentration and movement of her lips. She's being a right bloody tease, that's what she is. No one eats a grape with perfectly pouted wet lips, the aforementioned lips forming into a perfect O as the grape slides easily into her mouth. Her mouth sucking in and out as she slowly chews on the grape, glancing around the room with a laid back confidence about her.

Her eyes eventually land on me and she looks startled upon catching my eyes. I move to wave at her as a form of greeting but suddenly her face turns sour and her eyes water as she starts coughing loudly, her face turning bright red.

I jump up from the table and run over to her. "Ella, are you okay?" I ask as I stand next to her, not quite sure what to do, her friend Gwen sitting next to her looking non-pulsed.

"She chokes on her food a lot, just give her a minute and she'll get over it." Gwen said lazily as she flicked through her copy of _Witch Weekly. _I looked at Gwen in slight disgust, not sure how her friend was being so carefree about the situation. I looked back down at Ella whose coughing was more under control.

Ella looked at me and sucked in a breath, quickly saying, "I'll be okay." She fanned her face once her coughs had died and looked at me embarrassed.

"Are you alright now?"

Ella nodded, continuing to fan her face. "Yeah, just a bit hot now." She looked down embarrassed and turned away from me, from behind I could see her fiddling with the collar of her blouse. When she turned around her tie was loosened and the top two buttons of her shirt were undone. My breath hitched as I caught site of her collarbone, her milky white skin exposed and teasing. Brief images of her in her knickers and bra flashed in my head.

My fists clenched and unclenched as I tried to distract myself, I tried to think of anything but her boobs. "Oh," Ella exclaimed cheerily. "I almost forgot, I have something for you." She grabbed her bag from under the table and turned towards me. She bent over and started digging through her bag. She gathered her hair in one hand and swept it over her shoulder, giving me a nice full view down her shirt where I could see a hint of cream lace poking out from the top. All too soon she popped back up with a piece of parchment in her hand. "Here," she said offering me the piece of parchment. "I made a list of books, sorry it took so long but I wanted to make sure that every book on this list was nothing short of stellar. And I figured with the holidays coming up you'll have time to read the books."

I grabbed the piece of parchment from her hand and tried to formulate a proper response.

_Okay Remus, concentrate. Think of anything but her boobs, anything but her breasts. Think of another word damnit besides, "_chest." The word escaped my mouth before I had a chance to hold it in. I looked in horror at Ella who looked confused and embarrassed. "Your chest, I-I can almost see it. You're against school regulations, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to button up your top."

Ella's face flushed as she turned around and fixed her shirt. After she was done she glanced over her shoulder and mumbled a barely coherent, "thanks Remus." Before turning back around and picking at her food.

Bloody hell, _what _has gotten into me? Ever since the other night at the party images of Ella in her bra and knickers flooded my head more than once a day, more than I would care to admit in fact. The image of her taking off her sweatshirt, her arms raised above her head, her body stretching to it's fullest was implanted in my head. The site of her curvy body almost had be growling. She had a full figure, nothing like the stick-thin bodies. She had meat on her, things to grab onto. She wasn't fat but she wasn't skinny either, she was a perfect balance, a real woman's body. When she had run into me, her nearly naked body pressed up against mine, it took all my strength not to snog her senseless.

It must be because of the bet, it's got us all deprived of women and seeing girls in their knickers and bras sent us all over the edge. Although, I guess that's not all that's attractive about Ella. Her love for books was one of the first things I noticed and liked about her. She's incredibly shy but wears her emotions on her sleeves, not in the typical girl way where they cry about every little thing, but if something has actually really upset her you can tell. She doesn't go around complaining about it, you can just read on her face when she's lost in thought because something's upset her. She's also incredibly laid back, I've never seen her get mad at anything or anyone. She just seems to go with whatever is happening. I wonder why I've never noticed her before, how she's gone relatively unnoticed by me and my friends.

Merlin, I can't think this way about her, she fancies Sirius anyway and my plan is to get them to seal the deal so I won't lose the bet. Can't deviate from the plan, must concentrate on Ella's breasts. Damnit. I mean the plan.

**A/N: Gah so I wanted this chapter to turn out better but itttttttttt didn't. I'm having a hard time getting back into the swing of writing and I'm trying to find the newest chapter of Thin Ice because I was halfway done with it before I left for basic military training but I can't find it. BLAST! Anyway, thank you to everyone who reviewed! I can't believe you all stuck around, you are all AMAZING. And the next chapter the plot line should be picking up again, these past 2 chapters have been developing chapters. Thanks again love you all!**


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